Joe Simpson, with just his partner, Simon Yates, tackled the unclimbed West Face of the remote 21,000-foot Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in June of 1995. But before they reached the summit, disaster struck.

A few days later, Simon staggered into Base Camp, exhausted and frostbitten, to tell their non-climbing companion that Joe was dead. For three days he wrestled with guilt as they prepared to return home. Then a cry in the night took them out with torches, where they found Joe, badly injured, crawling through the snowstorm in a delirium.

Far from causing Joe's death, Simon had paradoxically saved his friend's life. What happened, and how they dealt with the psychological traumas that resulted when Simon was forced into the appalling decision to cut the rope, makes not only an epic of survival but a compelling testament of friendship.

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Listener Opinions

Ryan | 2/16/2014

" A pretty amazing survival story. I would actually only give it 3.5. "

Brian | 2/4/2014

" run of the mill climbing survival story. i liked it because i like survival stories. the best part was after he made it out and he and his friend who left him shared words in the tent. "

Jessica | 1/28/2014

" Recommended to any who enjoy physical/outdoor challenges. Inspiring to me as the Joe details what helped him to survive. Definitely spiritually inspired me even if Joe claims to be atheist. Casual use of profanity. Vivid, breathtaking descriptions awesome geography of the Andes and what it takes to climb them. "

Kirsten | 1/27/2014

" See 'The Perfect Storm'. Quite a few technical references which impeded me from really visualising and understanding what Simpson was describing. I read this book because I had seen the film about this event, which I found fantastic; I admit that therefore the book had a lot to live up to,and I already knew what 'happened' - however I think Kevin MacDonald is a better director than Simpson is a writer. "

Stan | 1/27/2014

" Amazing story - fantastic book. Must read. "

Ambur | 1/22/2014

" Wow! This book was amazing. Joe Simpson and Simon Yates both went through so much during their climb of the west face of Siula Grande of the Peruvian Andes....seriously, this book is intense! I absolutely loved it. Joe is an amazing storyteller and he manages to lock the reader in a spiral of suspense throughout the last half of the book...even knowing that it would end well, I still couldn't help but be suspended in anticipation throughout the story. I don't usually read much non fiction, but this is one that I would definitely recommend! "

Lisa_woo | 1/15/2014

" Great book, great story, found other Joe Simpson books to be better though "

Rachel | 1/9/2014

" The writing is pretty amateurish but the story is engaging. I know it wasn't the author's intention, but Yates comes off as downright callous. I have a thing for books about climbing and mountains so I liked it but you might not. It's pretty technical. "

Rebecca | 12/17/2013

" More about the actual story than the book itself but an unbelievable read. "

Leslie A | 12/11/2013

" Amazing story of the fight to survive. "

Ian | 12/4/2013

" A gripping story in the understated tradition of British 'Boy's Own' adventures, with a significant difference - it's true. "

Kendra | 10/21/2013

" This is a phenomenal story of survival written in an open, honest style. The author (and survivor) does an excellent job of recreating the events and the emotions surrounding his hike in the Cordillera Blanca in Peru. "

Richard Pierce | 9/18/2013

" Frightening, raw, exciting, exhilarating. Nuff said. Even if you're not into climbing, this is a must-read. R "

Steven Traylor | 5/2/2013

" Best mountaineering survival story around "

Linda | 4/8/2013

" This is a very interesting true story of ethics and survival. The question you'll be asking yourself will be, "What would I have done?" Beware of quite a bit of foul language. "

Annelaurie | 12/16/2012

" Not my kind of book but was really sucked in to the drama of it all. Crazy guys! "

Sara Wood | 11/27/2012

" I tend to be a sucker for a good survival story, and this is one of the best I've ever read. Pretty good movie too. "

Matthew Hayes | 10/21/2012

" The documentary is also very good. "

Steve Smith | 9/12/2012

" This was the best true-life survival story I have ever read. "

Mary | 9/9/2012

" crazy crazy story. two climbers are stuck on a mountain in the middle of a storm. very intense. i'd give it five stars but there's a lot of technical talk that's a little hard to understand. just read past it...it's the story that matters. "

Gloria | 8/22/2012

" I am not a mountaineering fan. Frankly I think these people have no common sense. However, I did enjoy the book. Joe Simpson's story of survival is unbelievable. "

Miriam | 3/9/2012

" A well-written book about a man's remarkable survival in the mountains of Peru. "

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